


Rizzoli and Isles

by rennerfan_1



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-24 21:10:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12021060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rennerfan_1/pseuds/rennerfan_1
Summary: Each chapter will represent parts of a continuing episode.I welcome any and all feedback and constructive criticism for this piece of work and I will try and update as much as possible.





	1. Angels and Demons- Part 1

Michelle Roderick closes her apartment door and releases an exhausted sigh. Her feet are on fire and her legs are throbbing, her entire body aching. She is looking forward to a soothing hot bath and then getting some much needed and deserved sleep after pulling a seventeen hour shift at the hospital after she was called in for a code black at the Lenzie memorial hospital. As a hospital that dealt with both privately paying patients who could afford the expensive bills for health care and the impoverished patients who relied on their health stamps for treatment, it was difficult at best. Since joining the team at Lenzie memorial, Michelle had treated maybe hundreds of people with varying symptoms and medical issues, and today had been one if those difficult days with several cases that has ended badly. Michelle tries not to think of those cases as she kicks off her sneakers and throws her jacket on the back of the sofa, a chilled bottle of wine calling to her in the hallway. Greedily, she guzzles at the sweet alcohol and starts undressing as she wanders into the bathroom, turning on the shower and then takes off the remaining clothing. What Michelle Roderick really needs is sleep for the foreseeable future and plans on sleeping in late the following morning, her brain having lost simple and common functions through sheer exhaustion. She is that tired and exhausted that she can't hear her apartment door open. Slowly, then closes with a minimal sounding thud. The intruder is silent.....


	2. Angel's and Demons (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long to write up the second part but real life has gotten crazy. I'm now back on track and of course enjoy.

Angela Rizzoli sucks in a deep breath as she gives herself a once over in the mirror, her hands smoothing down the material of her dress. Then she applies a little lipstick and her favourite perfume, finally feeling ready to go downstairs. She had spent all morning cleaning the house from top to bottom and then prepared several dishes for that evening's special dinner. It wasn't often that everyone got together, but everyone had made the effort since it was Angela's big fiftieth. For weeks she had dreaded turning fifty and wanted nothing more than to be able to delay it, but she finally came around that morning and found herself actually looking forward to it. Angela walks into the sitting room and is greeted by Frankie.

"Happy birthday, Ma. You look like a million bucks!" He says as he hugs and kisses her. 

"Thank you, Frankie." She grins, feeling great. "Is Jane here yet?" 

He nods. "She's in the kitchen with Maura." 

Angela follows Frankie into the kitchen and is greeted by Maura who hands her a large gift bag that is covered in ribbons and glitter. 

"Oh Maura, you shouldn't have-" the birthday girl is cut off by the medical examiner. 

"Angela, please don't debate whether you should accept it or not." Maura smiles. "This is a special occasion and I wanted to give you something to remember it by." 

Smiling, Angela gives Dr Isles a tight hug and a kiss, thanking her for being there and for her gift. She is overwhelmed as she notices the stack of birthday cards and presents in various wrapping paper and gift bags on the table. She had no idea that so many people thought of her so well.

"I better get dinner ready before your father gets home. You know he gets cranky if dinner isn't on the table." Angela says and rushes off into the kitchen. 

It's an odd thing to be cooking your own birthday meal, but Angela didn't seem to mind as she pranced around the kitchen in her dress and heels. Maura and Jane went in to help and were chased out of there, told to relax and have a drink. The birthday girl emerged from the kitchen with an apron around her waist, her face flushed from the heat as she sits down on the edge of the sofa and takes a sip of wine. 

"What is it you're making, Angela?" Maura asks with a smile. "It smells delicious." 

"I'm making a traditional Italian bread soup topped with the most perfect ciabatta and fresh parmesan." She answers with excitement. "And then we have Tuscan roast pork with all the trimmings. Then for dessert, we have cannoli's." 

"I hope you made plenty, Ma. I've been starving myself all week for this." Frankie announces and turns to Maura. "Ma makes the best Cannoli's in all of Boston, maybe even America. Jane will tell you how good they are."

"Oh yeah, they're definitely the best cannoli's in all of Boston." Jane adds in agreement. 

While Angela finishes off the rest of the meal, the rest of the dinner guests are patiently waiting for the feast the they are about to take on, but they have to wait for Frank senior to arrive home from work. And time slowly ticks away and there is still no sign of Frank Rizzoli. More of Angela's friends arrive, another four women to add to the party and young Frankie feels a little outnumbered, so he makes himself useful and pours everyone drinks. The laughter is loud and joyous, but Jane notices that the birthday girl is missing. Jane finds her mother covering several of the dishes with tinfoil and is trying to salvage the roast pork which is as black as coal. 

"Ma?" Jane says quietly and touches her mother's arm. "Ma, are you Okay?" 

"I'm fine, Jane. Now go and enjoy the party." Angela say bluntly and throws the batch of roast potatoes in the trashcan. 

Jane understands completely why her mother is so upset and just wants to be left alone, but she isn't going to do That, not on her birthday. 

"Ma, the food looks great as it is, Ma." Angela's daughter says with conviction. 

"It doesn't look Good, Jane." Angela snaps and then she covers her face with her hands, forcing herself to hold back the tears. "Everything is ruined and it's your father's fault! He knew he was supposed to be here, but instead he's somewhere else! I should have known he was going to ruin it." 

Jane lets out a soft sigh and comforts her mother as best as she can and she is released when Maura enters the kitchen.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." The medical examiner says sincerely and goes to Angela, having always seen her as a mother figure and hugs her. "Are you Okay?" 

"I'm fine." Angela protests and wipes away the escaping tears. "I just-" 

"Dad hasn't turned up and he knew to be here and Ma is worried about dinner cause she thinks it's ruined." Jane jumps in quickly. 

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Dr Isles excuses herself and returns a few minutes later. "I have some excellent news."

"What?" Jane queries. Both she and Angela are confused. 

"Since you truly believe that his evening is a disaster, I have taken the liberty of ordering dinner from a restaurant that I am sure won't be as excellent as yours, Angela but it is a very close second." Maura says with a wide smile. 

"Maura, you really didn't have to do that." Angela starts crying and hugs the other woman tightly. "Let me get my purse and-" 

"No." Maura says firmly. "Absolutely not. It is your birthday and it is your special day, so please take this as an extra gift for being such a supportive and caring person. Take it as a thank you for being there when I really needed a mother." 

Jane Rizzoli's eyes water, but she won't admit it. She tells her mother to go relax in the living room with her guests and that she and Maura will tidy up the kitchen. As soon as Angela has left, Jane corners her best friend and colleague. 

"You didn't have to do that." The dark haired woman says. 

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. Jane, Angela has been like a mother to me for as long as I've known you and I simply couldn't stand to see her so upset." Maura answers. "And just to make it absolutely clear that this is my treat." 

And with that the two women joined everyone else in the living room. The food arrived from Maura' s favourite restaurant along with bottles of wine and champagne which everyone dived into. Frankie put on some music and very soon Angela was up dancing with her friends, feeling as if she was twenty years old again and then it changed when her husband walked through the door.

"What's all this?" Frank senior growls, looking at the expected mess of a party and tries calling on his wife, but the music is too loud, so he turns it off. "Angela! What the hell is going on in here?" 

"I'm celebrating, Frank or don't you remember that it's my birthday?" She bites back. 

"Look at this damned mess and who's all these people?" He demands.

"Its a party and these people are my friends who kindly came over to celebrate." She tells him. "We've had such a great time."

Frank Rizzoli is in no mood to be made a fool of in front of his wife's guests and children. He looks like he is going to explode as his eyes bore onto his wife. 

"Lighten up, Frank." Angela replies and pours herself another glass of wine. "Have a drink and relax."

"I want everyone out of here in ten minutes or-" he starts to say. 

"Or What? You're going to call the police?" The birthday girl laughs. "These people are my friends and they are celebrating my birthday with me, which is more than you can say Frank Rizzoli." 

Frank Rizzoli looks as if he is going to kill his own wife, so Frankie intervenes before something happens that they all regret. 

"Pop, let's go get a beer and go out in the yard to cool off, huh?" Frankie suggests and guides his father to the kitchen and outside. 

The party is over. Angela's guests are making excuses and are leaving, calling for cabs or partners to pick them up. They hug their friend goodbye and promise to make arrangements to do something soon and what doesn't help is that Rizzoli and Isles are paged to attend a crime scene. Jane goes outside and speaks to Frankie, to tell him where they are and to call if he needs any assistance in playing referee between their parents. 

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay with them?" She asks. 

"Sure." He shrugs like it's no big deal. "This is just payback for all the crap we gave them as kids." 

 

Jane Rizzoli can't help but feel relieved to be out of her parents argument and feels sorry that she had to leave Frankie to deal with them. A cruiser had swung by to pick her and Maura up from the Rizzoli house and soon they were signing in to a crime scene. The crime scene is surprisingly in a very nice part of town, quiet and reserved. But the sound of sirens and the sight of police cruisers blocking off the street is enough to get the normally quiet neighbourhood standing at their windows or in the street. Jane and Maura duck under the crime scene tape, entering the building and taking the elevator up to the third floor and find Sergeant Vince Korsak standing outside the apartment with a uniformed officer at the end of the hallway

"What have we got, Korsak?" Rizzoli asks, being handed crime scene coveralls by Maura's assistant. 

"This one isn't pretty, Jane. Whoever did this must have been really mad at her." Korsak answers, frowning. "The boyfriend is in the caretakers office downstairs. Poor guy let himself in because she wasn't answering the phone and loud music was playing. A neighbour told him that it had been going on for hours." 

Jane processes the information she is given and although a neighbour corroborated the boyfriend's story of loud music playing, it didn't meant he didn't have anything to do with his girlfriend's death. She suits up alongside Maura, in protective overalls and shoe covers to stop contamination of the scene. She is glad to hear that the photographer has done his part already and the small team of forensic scientists who aid Maura are just finishing up, even the transport for the body to take it back to the Morgue is ready and waiting. 

Rizzoli follows Maura and Korsak into the victim's apartment and is mindful of the yellow markers on the floor, pointing out bloody footsteps and droplets of blood. The air is filled with a a sickingly sweet odour of blood and it grows stronger as they walk down the short hallway. Jane takes in the clean white walls with blown up photographs of nature, seeing rainforests and waterfalls, volcanos and mountains in black and grey. The hallway leads into an open plan sitting room and kitchen, a table between the two areas and it looks homely and comfortable. Medical journals and books line the book shelves and the shelf on the very bottom holds about a dozen true life stories. Dr Isles pauses at the books and studies the titles. 

"Some of these journals are very advanced for a nurse." Maura comments, scribbling her observations down in a notebook and moves on. "She has an advanced interest in psychiatric medicine."

"Is that normal?" Detective Barry Frost asks, looking up from the pile of mail he is flicking through. 

"I wouldn't like to guess, but it could have been a field that interested her and she wanted to continue." Isles explains. "Or it may just be some light reading for her." 

"I guess anything is possible." Frost mumbles and turns back to what he's doing. 

Jane opens the fridge and peeks inside, seeing nothing but the typical contents that should be in her own fridge at home. She moves on and pulls out drawers in the kitchen, inspecting the white memo board that is by the fridge with a list of daily to do's. Michelle Roderick is organised as well as tidy and everything has it's place, including an overhead cupboard that's filled with important documents such as rent agreements, pay slips and monthly bills, her current rota at the hospital tacked to the inside door. Rizzoli is impressed with how organised the young woman is and is envious of how she manages to keep track of such a hectic life.

"Jane!" Sergeant Korsak calls out, his voice echoing as if he is in the bathroom. "Can you come here a second?" 

She does as he asks and pops her head into the pristine bathroom, noticing the amount of lavender accessories against the white tile. "What's up?" 

"Does any of this look abnormal to you?" He asks her seriously and looks at her, noticing the look she gives him. "What did I do this time?" 

"Just became I'm a woman it doesn't mean I know what's normal in a bathroom cabinet." She scolds him, trying to sound less playful. "What have you got?"

"Umm... maybe you should just take a look." He is clearly flustered and his face is tinged with red. "I'm gonna see what Frost is up to." 

The detective shakes her head as she inspects the contents of the bathroom cabinet and starts laughing when she sees what Korsak was so embarrassed about. She pushes the tampons aside and notices the several bottles of pills at the back, all with various dates and names of drugs. Scribbling then down, she calls for Maura to have a look. The medical examiner studies the labels. 

"Citalopram is a commonly used drug in the treatment of depression and there is also a prescription for oxycodone, which is an opiate and highly addictive. There are typical over the counter medications for cold and flu symptoms. Hm, there is also a prescription bottle here for Ativan and nortriptyline. The ativan is an anti anxiety drug and the   
nortriptyline is commonly used to treat someone who suffers from panic attacks."

"Is that normal?" Jane queries, clearly confused. "To be taking all those pills?" 

"It would depend on the individual and the diagnosis based on the symptoms that are presented to her doctor at the time and after the initial diagnosis, but yes these are drugs that are common in patients who suffer from anxiety." Dr Isles replies.

"A simple yes or no would have been fine, Maura." Jane answers with light humoured sarcasm that makes Dr Isles shake her head with a smile, an old cat and mouse game between them. "Let's have a look at our victim and see what's up." 

Rizzoli and Isles carefully move closer to the deceased young woman and take in the details that had become second nature to them through years of working similar cases together. Michelle Roderick is ghoulish and waxy in appearance, her pale skin splattered with crimson red. Rizzoli studies the body as Maura takes notes and starts her process of documenting everything that she can see. 

"These look like stab wounds." Jane points out to the deep wounds on the body, stomach, chest and hands that are most likely defensive wounds. 

"I can't confirm anything until I have concluded the investigation, Jane. Will you be joining us?" The doctor asks her friend. 

"Yeah, I'll be there once I've talked to the boyfriend. First I want to know as much as I can about him." Rizzoli answers and turns to detective Frost who silently nods. "Can you see what you can dig up?" 

"Sure, it shouldn't take long. I'll get his details from the patrol cop who is with him now. " Frost says and turns on his heels and leaves, returning ten minutes later. 

"What have we got?" Jane asks. 

"Dennis Wade, thirty two years old and works construction for the Campbell family. He's got no priors or misdemeanors, not even a parking ticket against him." Barry recites the information from the portable computer and shrugs his shoulders. "He's clean, Jane." 

"Okay." Rizzoli sighs. "We should go talk to him and see what is going on."Angela Rizzoli sucks in a deep breath as she gives herself a once over in the mirror, her hands smoothing down the material of her dress. Then she applies a little lipstick and her favourite perfume, finally feeling ready to go downstairs. She had spent all morning cleaning the house from top to bottom and then prepared several dishes for that evening's special dinner. It wasn't often that everyone got together, but everyone had made the effort since it was Angela's big fiftieth. For weeks she had dreaded turning fifty and wanted nothing more than to be able to delay it, but she finally came around that morning and found herself actually looking forward to it. Angela walks into the sitting room and is greeted by Frankie.

"Happy birthday, Ma. You look like a million bucks!" He says as he hugs and kisses her. 

"Thank you, Frankie." She grins, feeling great. "Is Jane here yet?" 

He nods. "She's in the kitchen with Maura." 

Angela follows Frankie into the kitchen and is greeted by Maura who hands her a large gift bag that is covered in ribbons and glitter. 

"Oh Maura, you shouldn't have-" the birthday girl is cut off by the medical examiner. 

"Angela, please don't debate whether you should accept it or not." Maura smiles. "This is a special occasion and I wanted to give you something to remember it by." 

Smiling, Angela gives Dr Isles a tight hug and a kiss, thanking her for being there and for her gift. She is overwhelmed as she notices the stack of birthday cards and presents in various wrapping paper and gift bags on the table. She had no idea that so many people thought of her so well.

"I better get dinner ready before your father gets home. You know he gets cranky if dinner isn't on the table." Angela says and rushes off into the kitchen. 

It's an odd thing to be cooking your own birthday meal, but Angela didn't seem to mind as she pranced around the kitchen in her dress and heels. Maura and Jane went in to help and were chased out of there, told to relax and have a drink. The birthday girl emerged from the kitchen with an apron around her waist, her face flushed from the heat as she sits down on the edge of the sofa and takes a sip of wine. 

"What is it you're making, Angela?" Maura asks with a smile. "It smells delicious." 

"I'm making a traditional Italian bread soup topped with the most perfect ciabatta and fresh parmesan." She answers with excitement. "And then we have Tuscan roast pork with all the trimmings. Then for dessert, we have cannoli's." 

"I hope you made plenty, Ma. I've been starving myself all week for this." Frankie announces and turns to Maura. "Ma makes the best Cannoli's in all of Boston, maybe even America. Jane will tell you how good they are."

"Oh yeah, they're definitely the best cannoli's in all of Boston." Jane adds in agreement. 

While Angela finishes off the rest of the meal, the rest of the dinner guests are patiently waiting for the feast the they are about to take on, but they have to wait for Frank senior to arrive home from work. And time slowly ticks away and there is still no sign of Frank Rizzoli. More of Angela's friends arrive, another four women to add to the party and young Frankie feels a little outnumbered, so he makes himself useful and pours everyone drinks. The laughter is loud and joyous, but Jane notices that the birthday girl is missing. Jane finds her mother covering several of the dishes with tinfoil and is trying to salvage the roast pork which is as black as coal. 

"Ma?" Jane says quietly and touches her mother's arm. "Ma, are you Okay?" 

"I'm fine, Jane. Now go and enjoy the party." Angela say bluntly and throws the batch of roast potatoes in the trashcan. 

Jane understands completely why her mother is so upset and just wants to be left alone, but she isn't going to do That, not on her birthday. 

"Ma, the food looks great as it is, Ma." Angela's daughter says with conviction. 

"It doesn't look Good, Jane." Angela snaps and then she covers her face with her hands, forcing herself to hold back the tears. "Everything is ruined and it's your father's fault! He knew he was supposed to be here, but instead he's somewhere else! I should have known he was going to ruin it." 

Jane lets out a soft sigh and comforts her mother as best as she can and she is released when Maura enters the kitchen.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." The medical examiner says sincerely and goes to Angela, having always seen her as a mother figure and hugs her. "Are you Okay?" 

"I'm fine." Angela protests and wipes away the escaping tears. "I just-" 

"Dad hasn't turned up and he knew to be here and Ma is worried about dinner cause she thinks it's ruined." Jane jumps in quickly. 

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Dr Isles excuses herself and returns a few minutes later. "I have some excellent news."

"What?" Jane queries. Both she and Angela are confused. 

"Since you truly believe that his evening is a disaster, I have taken the liberty of ordering dinner from a restaurant that I am sure won't be as excellent as yours, Angela but it is a very close second." Maura says with a wide smile. 

"Maura, you really didn't have to do that." Angela starts crying and hugs the other woman tightly. "Let me get my purse and-" 

"No." Maura says firmly. "Absolutely not. It is your birthday and it is your special day, so please take this as an extra gift for being such a supportive and caring person. Take it as a thank you for being there when I really needed a mother." 

Jane Rizzoli's eyes water, but she won't admit it. She tells her mother to go relax in the living room with her guests and that she and Maura will tidy up the kitchen. As soon as Angela has left, Jane corners her best friend and colleague. 

"You didn't have to do that." The dark haired woman says. 

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. Jane, Angela has been like a mother to me for as long as I've known you and I simply couldn't stand to see her so upset." Maura answers. "And just to make it absolutely clear that this is my treat." 

And with that the two women joined everyone else in the living room. The food arrived from Maura' s favourite restaurant along with bottles of wine and champagne which everyone dived into. Frankie put on some music and very soon Angela was up dancing with her friends, feeling as if she was twenty years old again and then it changed when her husband walked through the door.

"What's all this?" Frank senior growls, looking at the expected mess of a party and tries calling on his wife, but the music is too loud, so he turns it off. "Angela! What the hell is going on in here?" 

"I'm celebrating, Frank or don't you remember that it's my birthday?" She bites back. 

"Look at this damned mess and who's all these people?" He demands.

"Its a party and these people are my friends who kindly came over to celebrate." She tells him. "We've had such a great time."

Frank Rizzoli is in no mood to be made a fool of in front of his wife's guests and children. He looks like he is going to explode as his eyes bore onto his wife. 

"Lighten up, Frank." Angela replies and pours herself another glass of wine. "Have a drink and relax."

"I want everyone out of here in ten minutes or-" he starts to say. 

"Or What? You're going to call the police?" The birthday girl laughs. "These people are my friends and they are celebrating my birthday with me, which is more than you can say Frank Rizzoli." 

Frank Rizzoli looks as if he is going to kill his own wife, so Frankie intervenes before something happens that they all regret. 

"Pop, let's go get a beer and go out in the yard to cool off, huh?" Frankie suggests and guides his father to the kitchen and outside. 

The party is over. Angela's guests are making excuses and are leaving, calling for cabs or partners to pick them up. They hug their friend goodbye and promise to make arrangements to do something soon and what doesn't help is that Rizzoli and Isles are paged to attend a crime scene. Jane goes outside and speaks to Frankie, to tell him where they are and to call if he needs any assistance in playing referee between their parents. 

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay with them?" She asks. 

"Sure." He shrugs like it's no big deal. "This is just payback for all the crap we gave them as kids." 

 

Jane Rizzoli can't help but feel relieved to be out of her parents argument and feels sorry that she had to leave Frankie to deal with them. A cruiser had swung by to pick her and Maura up from the Rizzoli house and soon they were signing in to a crime scene. The crime scene is surprisingly in a very nice part of town, quiet and reserved. But the sound of sirens and the sight of police cruisers blocking off the street is enough to get the normally quiet neighbourhood standing at their windows or in the street. Jane and Maura duck under the crime scene tape, entering the building and taking the elevator up to the third floor and find Sergeant Vince Korsak standing outside the apartment with a uniformed officer at the end of the hallway

"What have we got, Korsak?" Rizzoli asks, being handed crime scene coveralls by Maura's assistant. 

"This one isn't pretty, Jane. Whoever did this must have been really mad at her." Korsak answers, frowning. "The boyfriend is in the caretakers office downstairs. Poor guy let himself in because she wasn't answering the phone and loud music was playing. A neighbour told him that it had been going on for hours." 

Jane processes the information she is given and although a neighbour corroborated the boyfriend's story of loud music playing, it didn't meant he didn't have anything to do with his girlfriend's death. She suits up alongside Maura, in protective overalls and shoe covers to stop contamination of the scene. She is glad to hear that the photographer has done his part already and the small team of forensic scientists who aid Maura are just finishing up, even the transport for the body to take it back to the Morgue is ready and waiting. 

Rizzoli follows Maura and Korsak into the victim's apartment and is mindful of the yellow markers on the floor, pointing out bloody footsteps and droplets of blood. The air is filled with a a sickingly sweet odour of blood and it grows stronger as they walk down the short hallway. Jane takes in the clean white walls with blown up photographs of nature, seeing rainforests and waterfalls, volcanos and mountains in black and grey. The hallway leads into an open plan sitting room and kitchen, a table between the two areas and it looks homely and comfortable. Medical journals and books line the book shelves and the shelf on the very bottom holds about a dozen true life stories. Dr Isles pauses at the books and studies the titles. 

"Some of these journals are very advanced for a nurse." Maura comments, scribbling her observations down in a notebook and moves on. "She has an advanced interest in psychiatric medicine."

"Is that normal?" Detective Barry Frost asks, looking up from the pile of mail he is flicking through. 

"I wouldn't like to guess, but it could have been a field that interested her and she wanted to continue." Isles explains. "Or it may just be some light reading for her." 

"I guess anything is possible." Frost mumbles and turns back to what he's doing. 

Jane opens the fridge and peeks inside, seeing nothing but the typical contents that should be in her own fridge at home. She moves on and pulls out drawers in the kitchen, inspecting the white memo board that is by the fridge with a list of daily to do's. Michelle Roderick is organised as well as tidy and everything has it's place, including an overhead cupboard that's filled with important documents such as rent agreements, pay slips and monthly bills, her current rota at the hospital tacked to the inside door. Rizzoli is impressed with how organised the young woman is and is envious of how she manages to keep track of such a hectic life.

"Jane!" Sergeant Korsak calls out, his voice echoing as if he is in the bathroom. "Can you come here a second?" 

She does as he asks and pops her head into the pristine bathroom, noticing the amount of lavender accessories against the white tile. "What's up?" 

"Does any of this look abnormal to you?" He asks her seriously and looks at her, noticing the look she gives him. "What did I do this time?" 

"Just became I'm a woman it doesn't mean I know what's normal in a bathroom cabinet." She scolds him, trying to sound less playful. "What have you got?"

"Umm... maybe you should just take a look." He is clearly flustered and his face is tinged with red. "I'm gonna see what Frost is up to." 

The detective shakes her head as she inspects the contents of the bathroom cabinet and starts laughing when she sees what Korsak was so embarrassed about. She pushes the tampons aside and notices the several bottles of pills at the back, all with various dates and names of drugs. Scribbling then down, she calls for Maura to have a look. The medical examiner studies the labels. 

"Citalopram is a commonly used drug in the treatment of depression and there is also a prescription for oxycodone, which is an opiate and highly addictive. There are typical over the counter medications for cold and flu symptoms. Hm, there is also a prescription bottle here for Ativan and nortriptyline. The ativan is an anti anxiety drug and the   
nortriptyline is commonly used to treat someone who suffers from panic attacks."

"Is that normal?" Jane queries, clearly confused. "To be taking all those pills?" 

"It would depend on the individual and the diagnosis based on the symptoms that are presented to her doctor at the time and after the initial diagnosis, but yes these are drugs that are common in patients who suffer from anxiety." Dr Isles replies.

"A simple yes or no would have been fine, Maura." Jane answers with light humoured sarcasm that makes Dr Isles shake her head with a smile, an old cat and mouse game between them. "Let's have a look at our victim and see what's up." 

Rizzoli and Isles carefully move closer to the deceased young woman and take in the details that had become second nature to them through years of working similar cases together. Michelle Roderick is ghoulish and waxy in appearance, her pale skin splattered with crimson red. Rizzoli studies the body as Maura takes notes and starts her process of documenting everything that she can see. 

"These look like stab wounds." Jane points out to the deep wounds on the body, stomach, chest and hands that are most likely defensive wounds. 

"I can't confirm anything until I have concluded the investigation, Jane. Will you be joining us?" The doctor asks her friend. 

"Yeah, I'll be there once I've talked to the boyfriend. First I want to know as much as I can about him." Rizzoli answers and turns to detective Frost who silently nods. "Can you see what you can dig up?" 

"Sure, it shouldn't take long. I'll get his details from the patrol cop who is with him now. " Frost says and turns on his heels and leaves, returning ten minutes later. 

"What have we got?" Jane asks. 

"Dennis Wade, thirty two years old and works construction for the Campbell family. He's got no priors or misdemeanors, not even a parking ticket against him." Barry recites the information from the portable computer and shrugs his shoulders. "He's clean, Jane." 

"Okay." Rizzoli sighs. "We should go talk to him and see what is going on."

 

Rizzoli and Frost are shown into the caretaker's office, a room cluttered with various tools and boxes of cleaning products that surround an old desk and plastic garden chair, a beat up sofa pushed against the wall. Dennis Wade sits with his head in his hands, looking up with bloodshot eyes. He's white as a ghost and a cup of sugary coffees sits at his feet untouched.

"Mr Wade, I'm detective Frost and this is detective Rizzoli. We're sorry for your loss." Frost is empathetic and settles in the garden chair. "I'm afraid we have to ask you some questions that are personal. Are you okay to talk to us?" 

"Please....Please call me Dennis." He swallows hard and fights to hold down a sob. "Of course. Anything you need, anything I can do to help."

Rizzoli silently studies Dennis Wade's body language and she genuinely feels bad about not giving him to time to process what had happened. 

"I'm sorry, but we will need to ask some very sensitive questions about your relationship with Michelle." Frost says softly. 

"Of course." Dennis nods, waiting. 

"What made you come to Michelle's apartment?" Frost asks and takes out his notebook to take down notes. 

"We....um.....we were going to see a movie later and I tried calling her to say that I had gotten a table at Antoinette's, a little Italian place she loved..." He stifles a sob. "She didn't call me back so I came over."

"Was it unusual for her not to answer your calls or call you back?" Barry queries. 

"Only when she was at work. She was a nurse at the Trinity hospital, so sometimes she couldn't answer her phone, but she always called back." Wade answers, frowning. "I kept trying to call her and she still wasn't answering, so I came over to pick her up as we planned." 

Jane notices the bouquet of gorgeous flowers that had been thrown into the caretaker's desk, lillies, Rose's and some others flowers Jane didn't recognise. 

"So what happened next, Dennis?" Frost manages to bring Dennis Wade out from his nightmarish day dream.

"I could hear music in the communal hallway and I figured it was another apartment." He explains and is clearly trying to remember everything as precisely as he can to help. "There's a couple of metal heads down the corridor so I assumed....I assumed it was coming from there, but Michelle's neighbour was already banging on Michelle's door and I knew something was wrong." 

"What did the neighbour tell you?" Frost makes a note for one of the patrol officers to take a statement from the neighbour. 

"Mrs Abernathy said that the music has been playing for hours and she couldn't take anymore, the same songs playing over and over." Wade says quietly. "That's when I....I knew something was wrong. I thought....I thought maybe she had just fallen in the shower or passed out, but it was strange." 

"What was strange?" Frost replies.

"It wasn't music Michelle even listened to." Wade Lars out a heavy, bottled up sigh and his bottom lip quivers. "She likes jazz and soul music. She dragged me to enough shows at the jazz club that I even started to like it." 

Rizzoli is still studying Dennis Wade and she can tell that he was madly in love with their victim, to the point where even her tastes were transferred onto him. She can't imagine what he is going through and she knows the image of his murdered girlfriend would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

"So you let yourself into the apartment?" Frost says, breaking the moment of silence.

"Yeah." He nods and then fear twinkles in his eyes. "Shit. I turned the CD player off. My fingerprints are going to be all over it!" 

"Dennis, try and not to worry about that right now, okay?" Jane says softly and it's the first time she has spoken to Dennis Wade. "I know for a fact that you had nothing to do with Michelle's death, so we can eliminate you straight away from the investigation. Tell us what happened after you turned the music off."

Wade looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders and he covers his face with his hands, relied and grief washing over him like a tidal wave. Rizzoli and Frost had seen the exact same reaction from friends and relatives of other victims. 

"I went looking for her and I....I....She was in the bedroom." The grieving boyfriend breaks down completely and covers his face with his hands as violent sobs rack his body like seizures.

The detectives give Dennis a few minutes to regain composure and the next area of questioning is going to upset him even more. 

"We have to ask if you knew about Michelle having any problems with anyone or anyone that could maybe want to hurt her." Frost is trying to he as diplomatic as he can given the circumstances 

"No!" He answers firmly. "Michelle is a good person. She is a nurse and had always wanted to be a nurse, to help people who are sick to get better. She always had me out with her on Christmas day and on Thanksgiving, handing out extra food to the homeless. She donated clothes and toiletries to help them as much as she could. No, detective. I don't know anyone or why someone would do this her." 

Frost and Rizzoli conclude the interview for the time being and tell Dennis Wade that if there is anything he can think of that could help, to get in contact with them. They are both silent as they walk back into the foyer area and catch up with Korsak. 

"Dr Isles is just overseeing the transport of the body." Korsak informs them. "What do you think?" 

"Dennis Wade isn't a suspect, but he's given an alibi for the last forty-eight hours up until he found the body. But I'll go confirm his whereabouts." Barry Frost answers. 

"What do you think, Jane?" The old detective turns to the only female member on the team. 

"I'm with Frost on this one, Korsak." She tells him truthfully. "Dennis Wade isn't our killer, but we need to find out who is and why." 

Korsak nods in agreement, trusting his colleagues judgement fully without hesitation and he acknowledges Dr Isles joining them as she walks behind the mortuary technicians who are in charge of transporting remains only, from a scene to the medical examiners office, from there to the funeral directors in cases where the funeral home can't pick up the remains. 

"Sergeant Korsak, it's good to see you looking so well." Maura Isles says pleasantly and is pleased to see that after his vacation, he looks healthier than ever. "How was Cape Cod?" 

"Why, thank you Dr Isles and it was great." The Sergeant replies happily. "Every day on the strips or in the rivers, nice weather and a few cold beers to-" 

Korsak is interrupted by a patrol officer who looks as if he's just run the Boston marathon, sweating and breathless. 

"Detectives, there's a woman at the cordon who says it's important. She's a reporter." The officer spits out. 

The four friends share an impatient look between them and since Korsak is the senior officer, he is the one who is nudged forward to explain the rules and boundaries to the rookie patrolman. 

"What's your name, officer?" Korsak demands in a non threatening way, but sounds firm enough to show that he means business. 

"Stubbs, sir." The baby faced officer answers. 

"Let me give you some friendly advice, Stubbs. In an investigation we don't talk to the press until we are ready and have something to offer. So tell this reporter that we will issue a statement when we are ready." Vince slaps the rookie cops back to show that he is done with this conversation. "But make sure you don't tell her anything about what's going on." 

"She asked for a few unofficial words, detective. I just told her that-" he is cut off. 

"You just just told her what?" Korsak demands,eyes narrowing. "What did you just tell her?" 

Detectives Frost, Rizzoli and Dr Isles are silenced by the newly recruited patrolman and even Dr Isles knows that anyone sharing any kind of information with anyone is not a wise thing to do. 

"Officer Stubbs, I just asked you a question." Korsak states, pulling rank for the first time in many years. 

"I just.....She asked if there had been a murder, I said yeah there was and she then asked if we had a suspect, I told her not yet." Stubbs flusters. 

"What else did this reporter ask?" He demands to know every detail. 

"She asked if the community should take precautions for their safety, so I told her that everyone should be careful 'cause no one knows a thing." The rookie cop explains. "She loved the gory stuff. She wanted to know who found the victim and wanted all the details of what happened."

Korsak's eyes darken as he takes a mental note of the young rookie officer's badge number and he dismisses Stubbs abruptly. Rizzoli and Frost nod in understanding that Stubbs's actions must be taken further due to the nature of his breach of confidentiality. Stubbs would find himself in hot water soon enough, but first the investigators had bigger fish to fry.


	3. Angel's and Demons (part three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for such a big wait on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy and chapter four is on it's way...

The homicide detectives had already managed to solidly confirm Wade's alibi and they no longer viewed him as a person of interest in their investigation and added it to the case file. The first twenty four hours of a homicide investigation is crucial for the investigators, for they have to identify the victim, attend the autopsy and await the official report from the coroner's office and while blindly searching through their victim's life, looking for some sort of answer as to who the killer was and why they killed, it sadly wasted alot of precious time. It had gone midnight when the detectives decided to call it a night and perhaps the next morning some light could be shed on why Michelle Roderick was murdered and who by. 

Jane let's out an exhausted sigh as she pushes her apartment door open, switching on the light and securing all the locks and bolts on the apartment door. Ever since Warren Hoyt had been incarcerated, he had promised revenge and it had naturally made Jane paranoid of her own safety, although she still took the same risks as every other officer each day. She pulls a cold beer from the fridge and takes a sip, resting it against her forehead as she checks the missed calls and text messages on her cellphone. Frankie had tried calling her. She returns the call and sighs impatiently on her younger brother to pick up.

"Hey, Jane. Do you know what time it is?" A sleepy, irritated voice answers.

She checks her watch, its after midnight and she doesn't entirely blame him for being irritated since she woke him up. 

"Sorry, I lost track of time." She says softly, exhausted. "When did they finally stop arguing?" 

"About an hour ago. Pop walked out and Ma's still crying her eyes out, so I'm on the sofa." Frankie explains. "I dont think Ma will forgive Pop for ruining her birthday."

"Yeah, I wouldn't forgive him either. Listen, I know it's late but I'll stop by before I go into the office tomorrow." She tells him. 

"Sure, Jane. See you tomorrow."

Jane curses out loud and feels her headache from earlier returning as she thinks back to Michelle Roderick's case and then her mind drifts to her parents and their domestic. She didn't need to guess where her father was because he would be in one of the old haunt's, a pub and getting blind drunk while her mother lay and cried on top of the marital bed. Afterwards, Angela would worry about what the neighbours would think because Frank would stagger back to the house or fall out of a taxi and restart their arguing. Jane wonders how her mother has managed to put up with it for all these years and she curses her father for being so stubborn and pig headed and selfish. Deciding to put those thoughts to bed, she also decides to go to bed too before she falls asleep on her feet and she wants to have a fresh outlook on the case the next morning. 

Rizzoli is surprised to see the driveway empty and she reasons that her father has gone to work, but finding Angela sitting at the kitchen table with soggy tissues balled up. Angela is still in her pyjamas where normally she would have been up and dressed and ready to face the day, but she seems miles away in her own little world.

"Hey Ma, are you okay?" Jane asks gently, squeezing her mother's shoulder.

"Janey, yeah, I'm okay." The older woman says, wiping her eyes and collecting the tissues and throwing them into the trash. "You're by early or do you need something washed and ironed or-" 

"Woah, relax Ma. I don't need anything, really." She says sitting down. "Frankie called last night and said you and dad were fighting, he said you went up to bed when dad went out. Have you heard from him?" 

Angela sucks in a breath and then let's it out, on the verge of tears. "No. And I really don't want to hear from him either. He ruined the one day I was really looking forward to and he ruined it. That selfish.....idiot ruined it and he knew how much it meant to me." 

"Yeah, I don't blame you for feeling that way, Ma." Jane says honestly and isn't sure what to think of what her mother has just said. "You know he'll be back when he's ready-" 

"I don't want him back, Janey. I've had enough of his moods and nitpicking at everything I say or do, treating me like a slave instead of his wife." She tells her only daughter. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you all of this, especially when you've got work to go to." 

"You and pop haven't been happy for a long time." Jane says softly, confirming what Angela has been thinking and feeling for years. 

"I just.....I don't know what to do anymore...." She pauses to control the swell of emotions. "Everything I do is wrong and I just....I've had enough." 

"Ma, I don't know what Frankie or Tommy would say, but you've got to do what makes you happy and if that means you leaving dad, then that's what you need to do to make you happy." She says with genuine feeling. "But we'll do whatever we can to help."

"Thank you, Janey." Angela kisses the top of her daughter's head. "Now you better get to work or Sargeant Korsak is going to have your skin for a new pair of boots. Now, get going."

"It's fine, Ma. I'm not due in until lunchtime." 

 

Sargent Korsak and Detective Frost had found it beyond bizarre when they received a text message from their final third of the trio earlier that morning, saying that she would be in the office later because something had come up. The two detectives knew it had to be something important because Jand never came in halfway through the day, ever and nevermind just in the first forty-eight hours of a homicide investigation. Dr Isles however wasn't so surprised and explained this when she first bid them good morning and invited them to Michelle Roderick's forensic examination and autopsy. Everything made sense and the remaining two thirds of the trio understood why Jane hadn't gone into detail about her late arrival and it simply was because that after she was stalked and attacked by Hoyt, she didn't want to show anyone any weakness, period. Maura's part in the in the investigation took three and a half hours in total, but the experts she was responsible for had been working on the remains since late last night and were analysing what they could to help speed up the process. Korsak and Frost are discussing one of the local petty criminals that they passed in the coffee shop when they see Jane sitting at her desk. 

"How did the autopsy go?" Rizzoli asks immediately. 

"Good afternoon to you too." Frost mumbles sarcastically and slouches in behind his own desk. "I'm fine, how are you?" 

All Rizzoli does is raise her eyebrow at him. "Uhuh, I can see why you're still single with all that charm under there. Irresistible." She pretends to shudder in anticipation and grabs a cup of coffee from the pot. "So how did it go?"

Anyone who walked in on the exchange between Frost and Rizzoli would think they hated one another and Korsak was simply playing referee, but the truth was that they are good friends. 

"Dr Isles said she won't be able to give us anything definite until she has collected all the information from the techs." Frost replies and offers our the small box of pastries that he had picked up earlier. "But she did say that Michelle Roderick's cause of death was caused by six frenzied stab wounds the abdomen and torso, a other four fatal ones. Her organs were shredded." 

"So our guy stabbed her to stop her from fighting back and then stabbed her again fatally?" Rizzoli wonders, taking a pastry. 

"It certainly looks that way, Jane. Dr Isles has her blood anaylist creating his modules and will produce the results later. They're backed up, so she'll call." Korsak fills her in. 

"So like we thought, alot of rage for this to be a random robbery gone wrong or killing." She muses. "What else do we know now that we didn't last night?"

"I've run an extensive background check on Dennis Wade using the prints he voluntary gave us first thing this morning. He is clean on every level." The young black detective says as he flicks through his notebook. 

"What about the caretaker?" Korsak says out loud, turning the technical expert. "Can you check him out?" 

"Sure. I've got his name, date of birth and address right here." He answers, fingers flying over his keyboard. "This is interesting, real interesting."

"What is it?" She asks across their desks. 

"The caretaker, Paul Marshall has a criminal record and three months ago was arrested for a misdemeanor assault. The victim dropped the charge, but the detective on the case left a note saying that he believed that Marshall intimidated his victim, either that or his brother did it." Frost explains with a shrug of his shoulders. "Marshall also has convictions for a good handful of misdemeanours. Misdemeanour drug possession, possession of a lock knife when he was in his twenties, and breaking and entering with robbery charges plead down." 

"What do we know about the brother?" Korsak asks. 

Frost's fingers fly effortlessly over the keyboard, a brief pause and then a noise of agreement. "The brother is Douglas Marshall, four years older than Roger and has a bigger record."

"What's his sheet?" Jane asks curiously. 

"Class B drug possession four years ago and misdemeanour assault on a clerk who refused to sell him alcohol." Frost says, scrolling down. "That's his most recent conviction, but from the age of seventeen he's got misdemeanours for drug possession, assault and battery, but was convicted of felony check fraud which he served two years and felony manslaughter for three years, not including the eight months it took to go to trial." 

"Wouldn't the owner of the apartments know about their convictions?" Korsak asks his younger colleague. 

"Maybe not if he didn't want to pay for the background checks." The young defective replies. "Those kinds of checks cost a few thousand dollars each." 

The three detectives are silent for a moment and then Korsak comes up with a battle plan, scribbling down tasks and to do lists on the case board. 

"Frost, see what you can find out about the owner of the apartments and look at everyone that's employed there. Then you and Jane can question the Marshall brothers." Korsak announces.

Some people looking in at the trio would say that Frost was being treated as an outsider, but the truth was that Korsak was using the ambitious and intelligent detective's skills with technology to find out everything. While on route to the apartment building where Michelle Roderick was murdered, Korsak calls Rizzoli to inform them of the latest development that he had found while going through the victim's phone. Rizzoli is surprised to hear the latest development. 

 

Paul Marshall is short and fat with a thin whisp of fuzz for a moustache, a badly done tattoo hidden under the collar of his dark grey uniform. He is naturally suspicious of the police, but decides to talk to the two detectives anyway and since the jailbird is more receptive to Jane, she exploits his weakness to her own advantage. 

"Thanks for talking with us, Paul." She says smoothly, catching his attention. "You know why we're here, so I would like to ask you a few questions." 

"Sure, go ahead." The caretaker replies.

"Michelle Roderick, did you know her?" She asks him straight.

"Yeah, she was in apartment four-eleven. She was a nice girl." He answers. "Terrible thing that happened to her." 

"Yes, it was." Rizzoli agrees and continues. "Were you ever in her apartment, Paul?" 

"Sure." He admits straight away. "Miss Roderick was having problems with the air-con and a few other little things that needed doing." 

"Was she ever in the apartment when you were in doing the maintenance?" Frost asks. 

"A few times, yeah. But I always arranged times that suited around her working hours because sometimes she was nightshift at the hospital and it didn't feel right going in, fixing things or being there when she was asleep." Marshall answers and the detectives believe him. 

"When you were in her apartment doing these odd jobs, did you two ever talk?" Barry adds as he scribbles down notes. 

"If it was a hot day she would make a big pitcher of iced tea or lemonade, would be thankful for doing the jobs quickly with no mess." He explains proudly and is then asked what they would talk about. "I would ask her how her day was going, then we would talk about whatever. That was it."

"Did Michelle ever confide anything to you, Paul." Jane asks. 

Paul Marshall scratches his head with a frown. "Hm, not that I can think of detective. I'm her maintenance man, not her therapist or friend." He tells them with a shake of his head. "I just don't know why someone would do that to her, like I said she was a nice person." 

"How was Michelle before she was murdered?" Rizzoli wonders if their victim had any contact with Paul Marshall's brother, but she stores that as leverage for another time. 

The handyman sighs. "I don't know, detective. She seemed to be her normal self."

"One more question, Mr Marshall." Frost intersects. "Is there anything you can tell us that could help?"

"I wish I knew something to help, but I don't know anything." Marshall replies. "I wish I could help." 

 

Frost and Rizzoli are equally as quiet as each other as they process the conversation they had just had with Paul Marshall. His alibi had checked out and local CCTV confirmed it, but the detectives are struggling to find the missing pieces of the puzzle that could lead them to Michelle Roderick's killer who is still free. 

 

Most of the tables and barstools in The Dirty Robber are occupied with music, laughter and conversations in the background. The three detectives had agreed that they needed out of the investigation unit and a drink could help their mushed up brains. That was until Frost and Rizzoli decided to put the money where their mouths were when it came to pool. Korsak sat at the end of the bar, sipping a beer and watching the two much younger detectives compete against each other. Dr Isles enters the pub and joins Korsak at the bar. 

"Sargent, how are you?" She greets him with warmth. 

"Dr Isles, please call me Vince. We've known each other a long time to simply use titles." He says with a smile. "Can I get you a drink?" 

"Okay, but you also have to call me Maura and not Dr Isles. Agreed?" She elegantly hops up onto the stool next to him. "A dry white wine would be lovely, thank you." 

While the drinks are being taken care of by the owner and permanent fixture of the bar, they continue their conversation. 

"So how is the investigation going?" Maura asks in a low voice so no one can overhear them. 

"It's slow to start off with, Jane and Barry spoke to the handyman today and they believe he was being genuine when he said he had only been in her apartment for repairs." Vince explains. "But he does have alot of convictions on his sheet, so who knows." 

"Jane mentioned a brother who also works at the complex." She recalls, watching the pool game intently. 

"He's also got a record for similar stuff and his ego and personality match his lifestyle." Korsak replies, laughing as Jane gives Barry the evil eyes. 

"It sounds like you know him." She comments.

"I've arrested him a few times. Actually more than a few times, but he's slippery and devious. He's probably committed more crimes than what he's been convicted for." He replies with bitterness. 

Maura knows that every officer has some convict that gets under their skin, whether it be the person themselves or the case. 

"Maybe because he has steady employment his priorities have changed and certainly it appears that he has tried to rehabilitate himself to some extent." Dr Isles reasons. "It is surprising as to how many convicted criminals return to their criminal activities once they are released."

Korsak scoffs. "Doug Marshall is never going to change." 

"Perhaps not, but everyone has the potential to change whether it be in a positive or negative direction." She replied and takes a sip of her drink. 

At that moment, Frost and Rizzoli join them at the bar and order two more beers as they childishly tease one another on their performance during the game of pool. The bartender puts their drinks onto a tray and they go to one of the diner style booths for some privacy and naturally they start discussing the case. 

"Whart's your findings, Dr Isles?" Korsk asks. "Did you find the cause of death?" 

"I apologise, but I'm afraid I can't disclose those details without writing my full report." The medical examiner replies. 

"You could always point us in the right direction, Maura. You obviously know more than we do." Jane counters. 

"Jane, you know I don't guess or make assumptions until I have fully determined the facts that are presented in evidence." Maura replies to her friend. "It would be unprofessional and unethical to do so."

"So when will you be able to give us your findings, Dr Isles?" Frost asks, breaking up the very routine disagreement between the two friends. 

"Tomorrow morning at the very earliest. The forensics team are working on other aspects of evidence or possible evidence that has been collected." The doctor explains calmly, pausing to take a sip of her wine. "Do you have a suspect yet?" 

"Not yet and we don't have a motive. Frost is going to go through her phone and laptop with the computer tech first thing." Korsak replies. "Maybe it can tell us something. Is the vic's parents flying in?" 

"Their plane lands at eight-thirty and we have an appointment with them at noon at their hotel." The youngest detective answers thoughtfully. "Maybe some of her friends and colleagues will be able to tell us something." 

"Maybe." Vince muses, smoothing his white goatee. "I'll ask for some officers to do initial interviews with friends and colleagues, then we can filter their statements and reinterview them if we need to."

"Well, since that's been decided I've got to go." Frost announces, draining his beer. 

"Anna will have your guts for garters if you miss your date." The senior detective teases and starts laughing. "Young love, I remember it fondly."

"Yeah, and that's all you've got." Frost quips back which sends the rest of them into almost hysterical messes. 

Maura is the only one who isn't laughing. 

"Lighten up, Maura. It was a joke." Jane says, ordering another beer. 

"I'm sorry Jane, but I don't find it amusing to belittle someone because they aren't presently in a relationship." She is stony faced and serious. 

Maura Isles has always been the well educated and socially awkward contributor to the team, although a very thorough, professional and intelligent woman, she could be a social butterfly around like minded peers, and she could also be as awkward and geeky in other people's presence. 

"I was joking, Dr Isles. Korsak is too thick skinned to let me get to him." Frost butts in, hoping to defuse the situation. "I better go, see you tomorrow." 

The detectives say their goodbyes, Frost going home to Anna and Korsak would be returning home to his current lady friend who made him sack lunches every day and left cute little love notes hidden everywhere. Dr Isles would be going home to an empty house but she had more than enough projects to keep her busy for at least another three months. Rizzoli on the other hand would be going back to an empty apartment where she would religiously go through her routine of clearing every room and making sure there was no one hiding, then she would lock herself in and double check the seven locks and chains she had put on the door, double bolting it at the top and bottom and then made sure the windows were more than secure. Now normally a logic Rizzoli would realise that no one, no matter how tall an intruder was, they would never reach the third floor apartment. But still Jane worried that someone Hoyt had interacted with would come after her.


End file.
